- Chapter 1 -
Standard Deviation
Malfoy wheeled round, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy's hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another -
"No! No! Stop it!" Squealed Moaning Myrtle, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. "Stop! STOP!"
There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy's ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted cried, "Cruci-" [1]
"SEMPER OBSCURI!" Harry shouted at the top of his lungs, his wand arm waving erratically in the general direction of the other boy.
Malfoy froze for a split second before his body twisted, his back arching so that Harry could see his face contorted in pain. His hands spasm-ed, wand falling to the floor almost in slow motion as his left hard clutched at his chest, and his right hand curled awkwardly, the heel of its palm crushed against his right eye. Malfoy drew a gasping breath then released a tortured scream as his legs collapsed from under him and he tumbled to the ground.
The room went silent then, except for the steady dripping from a collapsed cistern. Harry stood slowly, wand still held tightly in his hand, waiting, just waiting for the ferret to get back up and start cursing. He walked over to the other boy, who still lay on the floor. The only indication Malfoy still lived were the twitches of his limbs that disturbed the small pools of water around him, causing eddies of water to ripple at Harry's feet. Harry, bent down, and reached out his hand, whether to cast a spell, or check for a pulse he wasn't sure.
As it was, when Professor Severus Snape entered the bathroom at full sprint, the first thing he saw was a bedraggled Harry Potter standing over the corpse of his favourite student, his wand held out to desecrate the body, or some other such dastardly, foul thing.
"Stupefy!" The man called out. Harry's neck craned around far enough to see the bright red light surround him before the world span out of focus. "I didn't think that two generations of Potters could both cause devastation at Hogwarts to the degree you and your father have." He spat - the last thing Harry heard, and then he gave in to the spinning and the darkness.
- HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP -
Harry came to slowly. His eyes were heavy, and his limbs felt as if they had been filled with lead. He could tell that he was lying down, but it felt as if he still wore his damp school uniform - it had gotten wet when Malfoy had blown up the cistern in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Malfoy! Harry thought with a start, The bathroom! Snape! That curse…
With a concerted effort, Harry willed his eyelids to open. He breathed in deeply at the sight of the clean white ceiling, and smelt the familiar scent of medicinal potions. He was in the hospital wing then. Harry stayed still, certain that Madam Pomfrey would appear in moments to fuss over him. When no such fussing occurred, Harry struggled to turn his head.
He could see nothing but empty beds to his right, which seemed odd for a reason Harry couldn't pinpoint until he noticed the empty visitor seats next to his bed. There was always someone there when he woke up in the hospital wing. In first year, after the Quirrell-cum-Voldemort debacle it had been Dumbledore. Third year, Madam Pomfrey had been there, hovering over him, with Snape and Cornelius Fudge close behind. Surely someone should be there.
However, it was when Harry turned his head to the left that he understood. The bed next to him had a person in it. Malfoy. Madam Pomfrey was waving her wand over him and muttering to herself. Her hair, normally in a neat bun like Professor McGonagall's was wispy, with strands flying across her face. She wiped them off her face without pausing in her wand-waving or muttering. Snape was there too, rummaging through a bag that rested on the bed, and pulling out potions bottles. One, he poured down the unconscious boy's throat, another he rubbed into the skin of his face. Dumbledore and Slughorn stood at the bottom of the bed talking quietly.
"I've never seen anything like it, Headmaster." Slughorn said, nervously rubbing his own balding head. "It's not a potion, at least not as far as I've read, but I've never heard of a curse that could do this either. His vital signs seem like he's drunk the Draught of Living Death, but the wormwood infusion has had no effect at all!"
"Neither have I seen anything similar, Horace." Dumbledore's blue eyes steadfastly refused to twinkle. "Neither have I. I fear greatly for the boy. Whatever happened in that bathroom will have far reaching effects for both Harry and young Mister Malfoy."
"Perhaps, Headmaster, we should ask Harry what happened. I'm sure it was just an accident, he couldn't have done this on purpose. I remember his mother, Lily Evans. Such a kind-hearted girl." Slughorn's gaze drifted solemnly to his feet.
"And do you remember his father too? James Potter was an arrogant, good for nothing reprobate who would not have hesitated before cursing." Snape snapped, now rubbing a gel into Malfoy's neck. "A fact you must both acknowledge, considering the events during the full moon. Potter is the same as his father, I knew it the first time I laid eyes on him."
"Boys, boys." Dumbledore admonished gently. "Harry is not Lily Evans, but neither is he James Potter. I think, Horace, that you are right. We need to wake Harry, unless you two are any closer to waking Mister Malfoy?" Snape shook his head and growled. "Poppy?"
"No, Headmaster. He's not responding to anything that would normally wake a coma patient, let alone a simple Ennervate." Madam Pomfrey sighed. "I'll go and wake, Mister Potter."
Harry quickly closed his eyes, and affected a blank look for his face. He heard the clipped heels of Madam Pomfrey, and focused on the sound of them approaching.
"Wait," Snape cut in. "His wand, give it here, Poppy." Harry heard Madam Pomfrey take something, presumably his wand from the table, and walk back over to the sour man.
"Severus, the boy will need his wand." Dumbledore pointed out. Harry could almost hear the Potions Master rolling his eyes.
"Oh really, Headmaster? I was under the impression that he was a House Elf and could do wandless magic." Harry snuck a peek at the scene - thankfully everyone was turned away from him - Snape was glaring at Dumbledore like there was no tomorrow. "Priori Inctantem!" Instantly a tendril of black smoke wound its way out of Harry's wand. It seemed to grow, and multiply, its branches reaching out for Dumbledore. "Finite." Snape waved his wand and the black smoke receded back into the wand.
"I've never seen anything like that before," Madam Pomfrey admitted. "I can't say I've ever seen a truly black spell either, but that… that almost seemed Dark." Her voice rose an octave on the last word, betraying her shock and fear.
"But Harry wouldn't cast a dark spell, I'm sure. There will be a reasonable explanation, of course. An accident!" Slughorn spluttered. Harry hid a grin, for once the Potions Professor's unhealthy adoration of Harry was working to his advantage.
"Of course he would have. He was clearly trying to murder my Godson. The bathroom was a wreck by the time I got there - covered in water with smashed porcelain everywhere. Potter was out for blood." Snape, of course negated the positive effect that Slughorn had provided. Madam Pomfrey was now biting her lip worriedly and glancing over at the Headmaster nervously.
"I am reluctant to make a decision on anything before at least speaking to Harry. In any case, we must wake him now to discover what exactly has been cast on young Mister Malfoy. Poppy, if you will?" Dumbledore's voice was calm, yet Harry could detect a hint of worry in his tone.
"Ennervate!" The woman intoned. Harry felt a rush of magic travel throughout his body, and his eyes jerked open.
"…what?" Harry faked the slight confusion he would have had, had he not already woken from the stunner. He pushed himself upright, widening his eyes at Snape. "You stunned me!" He accused hotly.
"You tried to kill my Godson." Snape countered snidely.
"He started it!" Harry began, only to be stopped by Dumbledore interrupting.
"Boys, do try to calm down. Severus, I am sure that Harry did not intend to damage Mister Malfoy to an extreme, and Harry, I assume that Professor Snape stunned you as he believed you would harm Mister Malfoy." Dumbledore raised one eyebrow at Snape, and the other at Harry. "No more arguing now, we have more important matters at hand."
"Potter, what curse did you cast?" Snape spat out. "And where, by Merlin, did you find it?"
"I… It was in a book - I didn't know what it would do though," Harry stammered. "It said 'for enemies' and I thought well, that Malfoy, well he's my-"
"Curse!" Snape was standing now, and advancing on Harry at a frightening rate.
"Semper Obscuri!" Harry couldn't help but to cower at the man's thunderstruck face.
"Where did you get that curse from, Potter? That curse is not in any books at this school!" The elder man hissed.
"Severus, calm down. If Harry found it in a book, then we can take the book and simply cast the counter-curse." Dumbledore said soothingly, his hand coming to rest on Snape's arm.
"There is no counter-curse!" Snape collapsed backwards into a chair. "Merlin, Draco…" He dropped his head into his hands and sighed.
"No counter-curse?" Slughorn seemed confused. "But a spell can't printed without a counter-curse, it's illegal. What kind of book was this spell actually in? And how old was it?"
"The book is about fifty years old, although the spell was only put into it around twenty years ago. It was never printed," Snape announced, his words muffled by his hands.
"Then how, may I ask, did both of you come across this spell?" Dumbledore looked between the two boys - men, waiting for an answer.
"A Potions textbook I borrowed from Professor Slughorn at the start of the year, sir." Harry broke first, as would be expected, but Snape's breaking was much more spectacular. The morose man raised his head, revealing tears making silent tracks across his face.
"I created it! I created this… this monster!" Harry blinked in shock, and Slughorn and Madam Pomfrey visibly moved back, startled. Only Dumbledore stayed his ground, moving even closer.
"Severus," he commanded gently. "tell me what this curse will do."
"He's blind!" Severus' voice was low, and devoid of any visible emotion. "Semper Obscuri - Always in darkness. Draco will never see again." He turned to face Harry's bedside and advanced menacingly. "This is your fault, Potter, you bumbling BRAT! Always poking your nose into things that don't concern you, always getting involved in things you've no right to be, always ruining lives!"
"Severus, please!" Dumbledore called out, stepping in front of Harry, effectively putting himself in the way of anything that Snape could conceivably do. "Now Severus, surely if you created this curse, then you can fix it. The ability to reverse this is within you, whether it takes you an hour, or a year to work out, you will work it out." Albus nodded at him slowly.
"But Headmaster, it has been years since I created the spell. I would need to work through all of my original calculations again before I could even begin to think of reversing it. And the chances of me creating another spell are low to zero. I… I can't do it. I just can't do it!" Snape's face scrunched up and he seemed to fold in on himself, his legs coming up and his body and arms leaning downwards, until his arms cradled his legs protectively.
"Perhaps a potion, if not a spell." Slughorn suddenly said into the awkward silence. "You always did have a talent for Potions, you could use that to your advantage."
"No, it would have to be a spell. A potion could only change the physical effects of blindness, like cataracts, or glaucoma, but the spell uses his own magic to keep his sight from returning. If he had been a Muggle, the curse wouldn't have affected him at all, and if we try to forcibly remove the curse, it will drain all of his magic to try to keep him blinded, leaving him little more than a squib. Draco is cursed!" Snape took a deep breath and let go of his legs and raised his head, coming into a much more usual seated position. His face seemed more composed this time, even if still miserable.
"Severus, do you think you could wake him?" Dumbledore asked into the awkward silence that had descended after Snape's words.
"He will wake of his own accord, seventy two hours after the spell was cast. Three days time, in other words." Snape said slowly. "I shall take care of him, he'll need a fair amount of looking after."
"But what of your classes?" Slughorn piped up. "Won't they need you? And I'm sure you'll need the extra time to work on a counter-curse too."
"I will manage," Snape hissed angrily, his face twisting into an ugly scowl. "I have always managed."
"Severus, I think that perhaps Horace is correct. You do, already have so many constraints on your time. Classes, brewing for the infirmary, your business outside of Hogwarts… Adding Mister Malfoy and the counter-curse to that would surely be too much. No, I have an idea." Dumbledore turned to Slughorn and smiled benevolently. "Horace, as you have a potions lab attached to your quarters, you will brew the potions for the infirmary." Slughorn nodded unhappily, but Dumbledore continued. "You, Severus will work on the counter-curse in the time that has been freed up thanks to not having to brew."
"And what of Draco's care?" Snape asked scathingly.
"Well, that is where Mister Potter comes in." Dumbledore looked back at Harry and smiled unnervingly. "Isn't that right, Harry?"
Harry gulped.
- HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP - HBP -
[1] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, British First Edition, page 488, lines 21 - 33